Architect Andrew Franz used reclaimed timber extensively in this renovation of a loft apartment in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood, transforming a small space into a bright and comfortable home for four.
A growing number of designers, architects, and builders are catching on to the goldmine that is construction waste, and have started recycling wood, plastic, and metal, and upcycling rubble to create entirely new materials for use in home design.
The use of re-used materials in construction has the potential of reducing the embodied carbon of construction and can reduce the demand for virgin materials as well as reducing construction waste. Embodied carbon in the construction phase of a building’s life typically equates to 50%/70% of its total life cycle emissions.
Feb 01Salvaged Lumber Summit: Building a Circular Ecosystem
A dynamic combination of micro presentations and active collaboration to fast-track adoption of salvaged wood into mass timber.
In the ongoing search for building materials with the lowest embodied carbon and highest carbon storage capacity (that can be managed in a circular economy), the use of salvaged wood in finger jointed products/feedstock and mass timber assemblies keeps rising to the surface.
This summit will:
- spotlight recent related innovations
- identify key components and status of each
- explore near-term opportunities for moving the effort forward
- connect partners and build new relationships
- identify next steps
It wouldn’t pay to build instruments and wait two centuries for them to become fully resonant before selling them, though Santa Cruz Guitar Company gains that advantage by beginning with really old wood. This aligns beautifully with the company’s decades long dedication to using reclaimed materials for both superior tone and environmental responsibility.
Source: A Note on Sustainable Wood Sourcing from Santa Cruz Guitar Company | Acoustic Guitar
Photography: Eric Isaacson of SquareOne Media
Midcentury architect Bruce Goff built a plethora of organic buildings across the Midwest and beyond, combining imaginative forms with found and reclaimed materials, including ribbed Quonset huts, feathers and cullet.
Source: Searing House by outsider architect Bruce Goff asks for $975,000 – The Spaces
Artwork by Jamie Harper
Harper is a local artist who uses reclaimed materials as his medium of art. All paintings are done with reclaimed latex house paint on salvaged hollow core doors.
Source: Jamie Harper art exhibit and opening reception | Arts & Entertainment | winonapost.com
Andreas Drenters spent his childhood tinkering in his father’s blacksmith shop. There, he would spend his time making toys for himself and his friends with materials found around the family farm.
Paul Kenyon started distilling gin during lockdown
He admitted that the toilets in St Martin’s Avenue had once been “terrible”, but it was also ideal for his distilling needs because it had drainage, electricity and water. After removing the cubicles, he had it redecorated with reclaimed materials, including tin from a friend’s farm and reused coffee sacks.
Source: Hereford distillery opens tap room in former toilet block – BBC News
Furthermore, the idea of raising the park on its foundations came from the existing wooden piles in the water from old piers. Though disintegrating, these old piles have become an important habitat for marine life and are a protected breeding ground for fish. The designers wanted to mimic this for the Little Island.
Source: A floating park above the piers of Manhattan, New York
A garden boozer made entirely from recycled materials has been crowned Britain’s best Pub Shed Of The Year.
Source: DIY ‘man-cave’ made from recycled materials crowned Britain’s best pub shed
Tri-Lox reclaims timber from water towers that are being retired. Photographer: Arion Doerr/Tri-Lox
Extending the life of existing structures, making them more efficient and reusing materials when properties are torn down offers one of the clearest paths for decarbonizing a sector that single-handedly threatens efforts to keep global warming within the 2C limit set in the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Source: Sustainable Construction: How to Refurbish, Upcycle and Green Old Buildings – Bloomberg
The interior is made from materials salvaged from demolished offices
Interior construction firm Semba Corporation has renovated the interior of its headquarters in Tokyo to include reclaimed materials discarded during the demolition of other offices.
Source: Semba Corporation creates own office interior from reclaimed materials
The ‘Pre-Landfill’ by Karlis Kukainis from Mackintosh School of Architecture
The Judges thought that this “playful project exhibits the art in architecture and shows that there can be fun beyond science”. It does this by testing the limits of reuse practices of reclaimed materials from demolished buildings which will be key to how we tackle the Climate Emergency.
Source: Winners of Scottish Student Awards for Architecture 2022 revealed | Scottish Construction Now
Scott Edouard Martinet worked in Paris for years as a graphic artist before turning to sculpture. His latest works use scrap metal mainly recovered from old cars, bikes and mopeds to create anatomically perfect animals.
Rondo’s “brick toaster” heat storage system is 98% efficient, and stores cheap renewable energy for industrial use at 20% the cost of an electrochemical battery. Rondo Energy
These stoves are full of plain ol’ bricks, made out of plain ol’ clay, sometimes with a bit of sand in there, but certainly nothing special in terms of materials. Nothing toxic, nothing that decays over time. These bricks will still be storing heat just as well in 40 or 50 years’ time, when chemical batteries have gone through several generations of complex recycling.
Source: “Brick toaster” aims to cut global CO2 emissions by 15% in 15 years
Reclaimed wooden walkways and shared outdoor spaces make up a lot of the reclaimed Kha-Nam Noi House.
Thai architecture firm YangNar Studio recently completed “Kha-Nam Noi house” in the central province of Sing-Buri, Thailand, using an existing elongated pigsty as a shell for a series of comfortable living spaces made almost entirely with reclaimed materials.
Source: YangNar Studio Converted a Pigsty into a Beautiful Tropical Home in Thailand
NICK GLIMENAKIS
One good way to include vintage pieces is by using reclaimed materials like wood beams or antique backsplash tile.” — Emma Beryl Kemper, Ember Beryl Interiors
Source: Kitchen Trends 2022: New Color, Cabinet and Countertop Ideas
Fast-forward to 2022 and it’s snowballed into an initiative where BARC goes into “homes otherwise set for demolition,” salvages as much lumber, pipe, wire, and other building components as possible, and then uses those reclaimed materials to build brand-new tiny houses throughout the Grand Traverse region.
Artist Bordalo II was in El Paso working on installing a large-scale mural on the One San Jacinto building in Downtown El Paso. This large mountain lion is part of a Big Trash Animals series of murals that he’s been installing all over the world using reclaimed materials.
Source: Artist Bordalo II
Two gummy bears made from the composite resin that could be used to make wind turbine blades. Photograph: Reuters/John Dorgan
Once the blades have reached the end of their lifespan the materials can be broken down and recycled to make new products including turbine blades – and chewy sweets.
Source: Wind turbine blades could be recycled into gummy bears, scientists say | Wind power | The Guardian
The Good Store “radically rethinks the department store”, with an emphasis on reuse and refurbishment. A range of plastic-free and sustainably sourced products are on offer, with the space also set to host informative educational events and services to guide consumers through eco-conscious choices.
Source: Sustainable department store opens in Mayfair – TheIndustry.fashion
Integrated sidetables were added to the lounge chairs
“People who sit in the chairs and touch the surfaces can ‘read’ the story of the furniture and understand where the materials came from. This connection to place and the playful character of the furniture is a powerful antidote to the usual impersonal, sterile environment of a hospital.”
Source: Waste firehoses turned into outdoor furniture for Maggie’s Southampton
Arthur Pululo busy with a unique piece.
Elizma Swanepoel’s unique furniture made from recycled wood and materials such as old-fashioned pressed ceilings has become sought-after collector’s pieces that will be a focal point in any home.
Source: Unique furniture art from recycled materials – Kormorant
The largest converter of reclaimed rubber in North America is coming to Alabama. (Encore International)
Based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this company uses reclaimed materials to make flooring and surface products. Ecore International is the largest converter of reclaimed rubber in the continent, mostly using recycled truck tires.
Mel and Jez Wright are selling the custom home they created at 29 Highlander St, Torquay.
“I ended up ferrying 100 or so bricks in the back of a van and we’ve incorporated them into the walls of what we funnily call the rave cave,” she said.“It’s a space that we’ve created off the living area to house our music collection. And it’s got some thick sliding barn doors that Jez constructed from the wood that he’s collected over the years.
(Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images)
Production of cement, the raw material in concrete, accounts for between 7 and 8 percent of global carbon emissions today, due both to the fossil fuels used in its high-heat production and the chemical composition of the raw materials and processes that make it.
Source: Major construction firms team up to get the carbon out… | Canary Media
Alan Schein / Getty Images
Reusing old wood, windows, metal, brick, and even concrete seems like a no-brainer (even some animals recycle used materials!), but it sadly doesn’t happen as often as it should. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, between 230 million and 530 million tons of construction and demolition waste are produced yearly in the United States.
Revitalizing urban environments with consciously repurposed materials and more practices are the brand’s ethos.
Source: How Sustainability Leader 1 Hotels Chose Its New Locations
This short documentary follows his process for creating sculptures that are contradicting in the sense that they’re both beautiful and, well, junk.
The finished project is now a generous, comfortable home for the couple, their two young children and their dog, and is packed with innovative, stylish ideas to copy.
Nzambi Matee, a 30-year-old who quit her job in oil and gas to work on her passion full-time, has created a lightweight and low-cost building material that is made of recycled plastic with sand to make bricks that are stronger than concrete material.
Photo Credit: Vestas Wind Systems A/S
Suppliers, fabricators and OEMs across the composite wind blade supply chain ramp up existing technologies, develop better reclamation methods and design more recyclable wind blades.
Source: Moving toward next-generation wind blade recycling | CompositesWorld
Using reclaimed materials and products can give your home a rustic charm while using existing items, keeping materials out of the landfill and reducing the demand for new products and the waste created when they’re made.
Source: 4 ways to revamp your interior design with sustainable products – Times of Oman
Thomas Dambo’s troll sculptures have been exhibited all over the world. Pictured: his piece ‘The six forgotten giants – little Tilde’ based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Credit: Lars W. Jensen
Based in Denmark, Dambo is the world’s most prominent ‘recycle artist,’ best known for giant troll sculptures all made from reclaimed materials.
Source: Big tourism boost for Mandurah as it welcomes Australian-first sculpture trail | Kalgoorlie Miner
The artist is fusing pieces from a broken generator, recycled kitchen utensils and collected scrap metal to create a metal fish.
Lloyd Alter’s cabin in Shoe Lake, Ontario, Canada. Lloyd Alter
The doors were grabbed from an office renovation, probably installed in the ’80s and replaced in the ’90s. The dining room table is cut out of a bowling alley, on a base my dad made; it was in his cottage for years. My dad also made the sideboard—it’s made from the floors of shipping containers.
Source: My Forest Cabin Is Built on Stilts With Recycled Materials
Not to mention: What steps were taken to source reclaimed materials? How was the water footprint of the materials reduced? What was done to ensure that the extraction and processing of the materials caused no ill health in communities local to their manufacture? How was renewable energy generation capacity increased either on or off site? How did the project reduce the energy consumption of the building’s users? How did the project reverse ecological harms?
Source: Maybe awards should celebrate co-operation rather than competition
The rear of the home has multi-level patios and sitting areas and a heated pool and spa. Eddie Avenue Photography
This unusual new spec house in the Virginia suburbs offers an old-fashioned mix of hardwood flooring milled from trees on the property and reclaimed materials from the former house on the site that’s been paired with ultra-modern features.
Urselmann Interior’s office is in Düsseldorf
These include existing wooden and terrazzo flooring that was salvaged during the renovation, as well as heaters obtained from resource-efficient building material platform Concular.
Source: Urselmann Interior renovates own office using recycled materials
Unique Homestays owner ‘Mouse’ shares the story of creation behind her two chocolate-box holiday rentals, Inkwell cottage and Filly Island.
Akin Studio won the AJ Small Projects Award 2022 last week for its ‘treehouse’ in rural Herefordshire.
Have you learned anything in terms of materials on this project that you might use on other schemes? The clients are incredibly resourceful, and we learnt to embrace reclaimed materials, as well as the importance of reuse and considering the afterlife of building components. In the case of Drovers’ Bough, the exposed structural elements are all carefully bolted together allowing for future disassembly or replacement, and many parts of the project were made from surplus materials or reclaimed products.
Source: AJ Small Projects winner: How Akin Studio designed its treehouse on stilts
Photo via Orcas Island Realty
Instead of a tiny beach cabin, it’s a 1,619 square foot home incorporating reclaimed materials and bright accents.
Source: Enjoy Lopez Island living at its best with this already-famous home for sale
Photo credit: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge
Hotel Brooklyn Bridge will have you booking a room for the views of the eponymous man-made wonder yet reveling in the amenities upon your arrival. Billed as a hotel of “sustainable luxury,” the five-star hotel was designed by location artists using reclaimed materials and native greenery, lending to the tranquility of the space.
Source: 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge Is Secretly One of NYC’s Most Wellness-Focused Retreats
Image credit: Osborn House / Alan Jenson
“Just like a certain song or fragrance can have an incredible emotional impact on us, we believe design has the same power to evoke positive memories and feelings,” said Boronkay. “The combination of reclaimed materials paired with rich and tactile fabrics, curated objects from around Europe and personal touches in the different spaces will make you feel like you are being embraced by an interesting individual.”
Source: Linda Boronkay designs Osborn House – a whimsical country retreat in Australia • Hotel Designs
The eco-friendly fashion designer sources her materials from a nearby industrial estate to create her looks.
Jam Press/@broke_boutique
A London-based fashion designer is turning recycled rubber into 1970s punk rock-inspired accessories.East Londoner G Martin, 34, repurposed nearly 688 pounds of rubber that would be piling up in landfills by turning it into rockin’ recycled fashion pieces.
Source: I make my fetish gear from recycled tires to help save the planet
© Luna Wilds
Luna Wilds, an “off-grid” spa just outside Brighton in East Sussex, is a new retreat built with reclaimed materials, says Jane Dunford in The Guardian.
Artist Dolan Geiman of Denver readies his sculptures and collages = made from reclaimed materials – in preparation for a past Main St. Arts Festival. The festival returns April 7 downtown.
In February, festival officials announced that PNC Bank signed on as a long-term supporting member of the festival.
Source: Main Street Arts Festival returns Thursday in Fort Worth | Fort Worth Star-Telegram
They monitored and compared the material’s performance, finding that the crumb rubber had higher impact-resistance, toughness, ductility, damping ratio and better thermal and acoustic insulation. “The results clearly show that crumb rubber cement is a viable and promising alternative to conventional concrete,” says author of the study Professor Yan Zhuge.
Source: Concrete Made From Old Tires Proves Tougher and More Sustainable – COOL HUNTING®
He reflected on what this abundance of waste could mean in a region with limited economic activity. The result? An ambitious, wide-ranging waste management company Wiper dubbed 3F Waste Recovery. “3F is founded on the principle that every molecule that comes through our door, we want to have an application for it,” Wiper explains. “My vision is the landfill of the future—where producers can take anything they haven’t processed, to break it down into a form that has a function.”
This van has a distinctive Nordic feel (Picture: D+)
‘It’s pretty tragic that there’s no second-hand market value as some vehicles might be 20 years-old but they only have only 40,000 miles on the clock. I guess we are scrap angels – we see their potential and love the challenge of giving them a new purpose by turning them into something fun, useful and really cool.’
Source: How this scrap junkie turns old vans into unique homes and venues | Metro News
